


Billable Hours

by Syzzygyp



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Business, M/M, Meet-Cute, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 23:50:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16775398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syzzygyp/pseuds/Syzzygyp
Summary: What starts as a regular job for graphic designer Joshua Hong quickly moves into uncharted territory. Because life is always a bit less predictable when Soonyoung Kwon is involved.





	Billable Hours

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sopebar8D](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sopebar8D/gifts).



> happy birthday <3

***

Joshua Hong traced a little smiley face on the window, then wiped off the condensation with his sleeve. From the 17th floor waiting room, he could watch the fog slowly roll in, a pile of cotton candy swallowing up the west side of the city. It was another grey day in a month of grey days, days that made Joshua long for the LA sun.

“Yo, something on your mind?” Joshua snapped out of his reverie, handprint left on the fogged-up glass.

“No, just…” Joshua glanced up at Vernon, then back at the city below. “Just thinking about home.”

Vernon clapped a hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “It’s not always beautiful, but you’ll get used to it. The rain can be kind of nice. Just takes time.”

“Yeah, but I –“ Joshua was cut off mid-sentence by a crackly voice buzzing through the waiting room’s speaker system. 

“Mr. Hong and Mr. Chwe, Mr. Kwon will see you now.” A diminutive young man leaned back in his chair behind the reception desk, PA receiver in one hand and a chewed-on pencil in the other. “Mr. Hong, Mr. Chwe. Mr. Kwon will –“

“Alright, alright, we heard!” Vernon nodded to Joshua, then tilted his head toward the door just past reception. The pair circumnavigated a mishmash of colorful couches, half-dead floor plants, mismatched chairs and poorly-placed side tables. _It’s a good thing he called us_ , Joshua thought. _These interiors are a mess._ Hand on the doorknob, he glanced at the placard. _Soonyoung Kwon, CEO._

“Ahhh come in, come in!! Sorry about the mess, I was just, um, having lunch. Uh… second lunch.”

Joshua was taken aback by the pile of empty take-out containers that littered the surface in front of him. Among the mess he could make out sad, wilted remnants of an old salad, a few smears of unidentifiable sauces, and a small stack of what looked to be chicken bones. And somewhere under there, a desk. Behind it, the chubby-cheeked Mr. Kwon wiped his hand on a crumpled napkin and extended it towards him, reaching over the pile.

“You’re the guys from Rocket Creative, right?” He smiled, eyes vanishing behind his scrunched up eyelids.

“Uh… “ Mr. Kwon had taken Joshua by surprise. _This guy is a CEO?_

Vernon’s elbow to his ribs snapped him out of it. “That’s us! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kwon. I’m Vernon Chwe, and this is my coworker Joshua Hong.”

“We – we’ll be guiding you through this rebranding process,” Joshua added. The CEO had a warm, confident, slightly greasy handshake.

“None of this Mr. Kwon stuff, Soonyoung is fine. Sit sit sit, please!” Joshua glanced down at the chairs to large stacks of papers and file folders on both of them. 

“Um, Mr. – I mean, Soonyoung, I –“

“Ohhhhh so sorry, I forgot about that. Just a second.” Soonyoung rolled his chair to the side of his desk to look out the door of his office. “CHANN!!” Both Vernon and Joshua jumped at the unexpected noise. “CHAAANN!!!!”

The small man from the reception desk poked his head into the office. “What’s all the noise for?”

“Could you, uh…” Soonyoung waved a hand in the general direction of the chairs. With a loud sigh, his assistant scooped up the papers and vanished back into the waiting room. “Ok, now… where were we?”

***

It had been two months since their first meeting. Joshua was trying to find comfort in routine, but Soonyoung kept on surprising him. Not in unpleasant ways, exactly. Just in ways Joshua found… challenging. He was used to a certain level of decorum, but with Soonyoung, that went out the window. Half the time, Joshua could just ignore it. The other half, well – it was a toss-up between secondhand embarrassment, pure entertainment, and, well, something Joshua wasn’t really sure how to define. Vernon didn’t seem to mind, but then, he was always a bit more easygoing.

Still, the work was satisfying. TenTen Talent was in dire need of a total rebranding, and there were long nights spent composing color palettes, drafting logos, picking fonts and researching replacements for that heinous furniture. But then, Seungcheol called.

“Hey, Vernon here. What’s up, boss?” A pause. “Wait, let me put you on speaker.”

“We got another project. Something for a…” The sound of shuffling paper rustled from the phone. “…a cat café/bookstore combo? Well, as you both know, we’re spread extremely thin right now, but the offer was great, and the client’s a friend. I couldn’t turn him down.”

“So… what are you saying, exactly?” Vernon absent-mindedly scratched the back of his neck.

“Vernon, I’m taking you off this project and moving you to that one. Joshua, think you can finish this alone?”

“I – yeah, definitely. I can handle it.” Joshua tried his best to sound confident. He wasn’t sure how he’d handle some of Soonyoung’s …eccentricities, but this was a chance to prove his ability, and he wasn’t going to let it slip away.

“Alright, then that’s that. I’ll be checking in same days and times as always,” Seungcheol’s voice buzzed.

“Ok, boss. I’ll see you back at the office tomorrow, then. Interested to hear more about this project.”

“See you then.” With a beep, the call ended. Vernon slid his phone back into his pocket and put a hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “You got this? Gonna be ok without me?”

Vernon looked so earnest, Joshua couldn’t help but grin a little. “I got this.”

Later, as stood at the waiting room window watching Vernon’s car pull out of the parking lot, he wasn’t so sure.

***

The first week working with Soonyoung one-on-one was not easy, but Joshua felt himself gradually adjusting. The quirks that previously made him uncomfortable were gradually fading into the background. By the second week, the man’s occasional emotional outbursts, random dancing around, constant snacking… it was all just a part of the routine. By the third, Soonyoung’s antics were even a little endearing, though Joshua would be hard pressed to admit it. But then, it happened.

The rain came out of nowhere. It wasn’t in the forecast and it had been clear since last Sunday, yet just as Joshua was about to head home, the sky cracked open. Stepping into the ground floor lobby, he was shocked to see sheets of rain battering the row of glass double doors leading out to the street. Of course, he didn’t have a raincoat or an umbrella. He stared wide-eyed, unsure what he was supposed to do. He didn’t notice the clomping of someone walking up behind him.

“It’s crazy out there!” 

Joshua flinched, surprised by Soonyoung’s sudden interjection right next to his face. He smiled sheepishly at the CEO. “Ha, yeah, looks pretty bad. I… uh, picked a bad day to leave my rain gear at home.”

“Know what – why don’t I call you a cab? It’s the least I can do.”

“I really appreciate it, but Mr. – uh, Soonyoung… I can’t.”

Soonyoung’s grin vanished. “What do you mean, you can’t? Are you _trying_ to get stuck in the rain then get totally soaked then get a cold then catch pneumonia and die??” His voice escalated in volume with each leap in logic until he was practically yelling.

Joshua fumbled for words. “It’s, um, it’s company policy. Seungcheol said, the company pays as long as we’re on company time. I – I can’t take your money, Soonyoung.”

“That’s so dumb! You’re working for me, I should be able to –“ He retrieved his phone from the pocket of his jacket, cheeks quivering. “You know what, I’m gonna call Mr. Choi and give him a piece of my mind. More than one piece of my mind.”

Joshua hurriedly tried to defuse the situation. “No no no, please don’t, it’s no big deal, just – if I’m billing you for these hours, I – I’m sorry, I really appreciate it, I do, I just… can’t. It could be a conflict of –”

Soonyoung wouldn’t take no for an answer. “What a stupid rule! I should be able to call you a cab if I want to call –” 

Before he could get even more worked up, Joshua mustered the courage to interject.“Soonyoung, please – it’s really ok, I’ll just call _myself_ a cab. Maybe… maybe next time.” 

Letting out a loud sigh, Soonyoung slid his phone back into his pocket. Joshua hoped that was the end of it.

“Well, can I at least buy you a coffee or something? Warm up before you venture out into the cold?” Soonyoung looked at Joshua with uncharacteristic earnestness, something like a hopeful glint in his eye. 

“Um, Soonyoung, that’s still you spending your money on me while I’m on the clock. I can’t do that.” 

Wheels were turning behind Soonyoung’s eyes – or, what Joshua could see of them, as the CEO scrunched up his face in thought. “So you’re telling me that if, say, I wanted to ask you to have coffee with me, you wouldn’t be able to?”

Joshua was a bit bewildered. “Not while I’m on the clock. I have to keep all my receipts, and then finance goes through those and –“

Soonyoung didn’t let him finish the thought. “So, if you _weren’t_ on the clock, you’d let me buy you a drink?”

Joshua wasn’t sure when the coffee had become a drink. He sputtered, blood rushing to his face. “I – uh…“

“So how about you clock out right now, we ditch the cab, and I give you a ride home? We can stop somewhere on the way.”

Joshua’s face was a furnace. “I’m sorry, I –“ He was taken aback to realize he felt a slight twinge deep in his gut. Was that… excitement? “As long we’re working on this, the company is supposed to be paying for my meals and logistics and stuff. I … really can’t accept this.” He paused, mouth half-open, and looked Soonyoung in the eye. He had to admit, there was something adorable about the CEO’s brashness, his hopeful determination shining through his …hamster-like face. Joshua took a breath. 

“Although, I do like wine.”

***


End file.
